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Jury selection for the theft trial of Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Chief John Yuknavich was slated to begin Wednesday, but has been postponed.

Luzerne County Judge Michael Vough postponed jury selection after discovering dates in the charging documents against Yuknavich didn’t match. The prosecution and defense will now be given time to submit briefs on the issue, Vough said.

Investigators allege Yuknavich diverted more than $48,000 in fire department money for his own use between 2008 and 2012.

Prosecutors and Yuknavich’s defense attorney were expecting to pick a jury Wednesday for a trial set to begin Aug. 25. By then, Yuknavich could be facing federal charges.

During a status conference last month, a Luzerne County prosecutor said federal prosecutors expect a grand jury to indict Yuknavich in August.

In addition to the alleged $48,000 theft, state police claimed Yuknavich illegally wrote himself $11,865 in checks and made personal purchases at Sam’s Club totaling $3,706 with the department’s credit card. He was set to stand trial in that case, but the trial was postponed due to a prosecution appeal of a judge’s ruling to toss evidence.

Trial is now slated for Sept. 2.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055,@cvbobkal

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